Facing the future

Image credit: Notebook Italia

We always knew the iPhone X imitators would be coming, but it’s still a bit of a surprise that they’ve come so soon.

A few days ago we reported that it looks as though the unannounced Huawei P11 will have an iPhone X-style notch, but a new report from Notebook Italiasuggests the similarities run far deeper than that. In fact, the upcoming device may have its own Face ID-style unlocking technology that takes inspiration from Apple’s TrueDepth sensors and possibly improves on them.

The “proof” involves some speculation, but it’s not hard to connect the dots. Following the leaked images of the new “notched” device, Huawei held a launch event for the Honor 7X and the Honor View 10 where it also announced upcoming technology it calls the “Point Cloud Depth Camera.”

The new camera has multiple sensors that project infrared points of light at the viewer’s face, allowing accurate mapping for both identifications and animations based on facial movements.

A familiar face

Sound familiar? It doesn’t take much of a stretch of the imagination to envision this new tech doing its thing from behind the rumored notch.

Huawei isn’t hiding the brazen imitation; in fact, it’s claiming its technology is better. In a hands-on demonstration (below), Honor device engineer Matthew Leone showed the technology in action and claimed it was more accurate and therefore safer than Apple’s Face ID.

Supposedly it’s safe enough for payment authentication and accurate down to less than one millimeter. It reportedly unlocks the device at around 400ms. The rep didn’t explicitly tie the tech to the P11, but at this point we’d be surprised if the Point Cloud Depth Camera doesn’t show up in the device.

As we reported just yesterday, many Huawei reps have been saying the new phone will appear sometime within the first quarter of next year, and past unveiling suggests it’ll make its first onstage appearance at the Mobile World Congress beginning on February 26.